Mining industry of Niger

Known and exploited Mineral resources of Niger, data derived from US Geological Survey. Colored circles represent current mining centers. Unexploited but proved resources in parentheses. * Gold: Au * Coal: C * Diamond: Dm * Iron ore: Fe * Limestone: Ls * Phosphate: P * Petroleum, crude: Pet * Tin: Sn

The Nigeren Mining industry is a crucial piece of the Economy of Niger. Exports of minerals consistently account for 40% of exports.

Mineral commodities produced in Niger included cement, coal, gold, gypsum, limestone, salt, silver, tin, and uranium. In 2006, Niger was the world’s fourth ranked producer of uranium.^[1] a new Mining Code was adopted in August 2006. under the new Mining Code, the national Mine research Office, whose responsibilities included organizing mining exploration programs, was replaced by two newly established entities: the geological and Mining research Center and Société du Patrimoine des Mines du Niger (SOPaMin). SOPaMin is to hold the state’s shares in the existing uranium companies and is in charge of engaging in commercial transactions, such as uranium sales. Since the adoption of the new Mining Code, the government has issued a significant number of new mineral exploration permits. Niger joined the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2005 and, as part of the EITI efforts, appointed in late 2006 a national consultative committee, which included representatives of the general public. A first audit report reconciling revenue paid by mining companies with government receipts was scheduled to be issued in late 2007. ^{[2] [3]}

Minerals in the National Economy

Niger’s mineral sector accounted for about 3% of the GDP and for about 40% of exports. according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a renewed interest in the generation of nuclear energy had led to increased demand for uranium, encouraged investment expansions at existing uranium mines, and promoted exploration. Foreign direct investment in the sector from 2008 to 2012 was projected to be $1.4 billion, which would double the country’s uranium production capacity^{[2] [4]}

Petroleum

A test Oil well in the Tenere Desert, January 2008.

Niger historically has not produced petroleum and has depended upon imports to meet its domestic requirements. Oil reserves have been known to exist in the east of the nation for some decades, but have never been commercially exploited. Government concessions are divided in two blocks which run from along the Termit-Ténéré Rift Basin just to the west of the Kaouar escarpment, south to the western side of lake Chad. The northern section, titled the "Ténéré Block" covers 71,155 km2 (17.3 million acres) of the northern end of this basin. The southern end of the depression, near the town of N'guigmi, is parceled out as the "Agadem Block".^[5]

In 1992, the Djado permit (at the northern tip of Termit-Ténéré Rift Basin) was awarded to Hunt Oil Company, and in 2003 the Tenere permit was awarded to a Chinese Canada joint venture. An ExxonMobil-Petronas joint venture was sold sole rights to the "Agadem block" at the south of the basin in the Diffa Region north of Lake Chad, but never went beyond exploration.

The "Ténéré Block" is leased in 2003 by a consortium of TG World Energy Corp. of Canada (20%) and CNPC International Ténéré (CNPCIT), a unit of the China National Petroleum Corporation (80%).^[5] In October 2006, TG World Energy Corp. of Canada spudded the Saha-1 well, which was the first well in a three-well drilling program that the company planned to carry out through 2007. The well flowed uneconomic quantities of petroleum and was abandoned as noncommercial. the company’s next target, the Fachi West-1 exploration well, was drilled in 2007. TG World’s future plans included the drilling of a third exploration well at a location that was to be determined after the results of Fachi West-1 were known, and the acquisition of an additional 700 km of two-dimensional (2-d) seismic data for regional and prospect-specific coverage in the Ténéré Block^[2][6]

A further "Bilma Block" (to the east of Ténéré Block) was leased by CNPC in 2003.^[7]

While test drilling continues in the Fachi / Tenere area, directly south towards Lake Chad, the so called "Agadem Block" was leased to the China National Petroleum Corporation in 2003, as the An ExxonMobil-Petronas joint venture in Agadem was not pursued by the companies. Here the CNPC made six oil discoveries and one gas discovery amounting to approximately 400 million barrels of oil equivalent.^[5] The Chinese government agency has planned to drill oil reserves here, and in June 2008 signed a deal with the Nigerien government to build a 1 million-metric-ton a year refinery at Ganaram near Zinder. The company has also pledged to build a 2,000-kilometer (1,200 mi) pipeline to transport oil out of the country, and connect with its projects in neighboring Chad.^[8] In October 2008, the government and the CNPC broke ground on the Ganaram refinery, projecting a completion date of 2012. It was announced that the refinery and pipeline deal brought a $5 billion payment to the Nigerien government, and when fully operational, could produce 20,000 barrels of refined petroleum a day. In 2008, Niger consumed around 7,000 barrels a day domestically.^[9]

Uranium

From the 1950s, Niger has been known to have large uranium deposits in the desert north of the Agadez Region, which is located about 1,000 km northeast of Niamey^[2] Only in 1969 was the first mine opened around Arlit operated by French and Nigerien government partnership. Arlit, and its nearby Akouta mine, created a boom town, as Nigerien budgets flourished in the 1970s era of record uranium prices. Extracted uranium was initially sold entirely by French concessionaire corporations, with contracts later revised to give Niger both an overall contract payment, rent, and a smaller amount of ore it could sell on world markets.^[10]

Uranium ore mined in the Arlit -- Agadez area is extracted as Triuranium octoxide. One 2011 industry comparison of total ore in the three largest mined consessions estimated Areva NC's operative Somaïr deposit to total 14,000 tonnes (with U3O8 @ 0.3%), the working Cominak concession to total 29,000t (U3O8 @ 0.4%), and the Imouraren mine under construction to tap a larger but less concentrated deposit of 120,000t (U3O8 @ 0.15%).^[11] Prior to 2006, Franco-Nigerien partnerships, led by the French parastatal Areva, were the only companies licensed to explore or exploit Niger's large uranium reserves. In 2006 bids for exploration permits were opened to dozens of foreign companies, led by Chinese, Canadian, US, and other interests. By 2011 China's Teguidda mine was the first of the non-French consessions to begin building facilities to extract ore.

In addition to Paris-based Areva NC, which was the country’s sole uranium producer, at least three companies were exploring for uranium in Niger in 2006. These companies included Bayswater Uranium Corp., a group of companies led by China National Uranium Corp., and North Atlantic resources Ltd.^[2]

Production of uranium, which increased by about 11% in 2006, came from the Akouta underground mine, which was operated by Compagnie Minière d’akouta (COMINAK), and the Arlit open pit mine, which was operated by Société des Mines de l’aïr (SOMAIR). COMINAK was owned by Areva NC (34%), the government of Niger (31%), Overseas uranium resources development Company of Japan (25%), and Enusa industrias avanzadas, S.a. of Spain (10%) and employed about 1,100 people. SOMAIR was owned by Areva NC (63.4%) and the government of Niger (36.6%) and employed about 600 people. an action plan was being implemented at COMINAK to optimize production while the company prepared to mine the new Afasto ore body at the end of 2007. In 2006, the company was granted exploration permits for the Agebout and the Afouday areas and worked on the characterization of the Imouraren ore body to determine its commercial feasibility. Areva NC submitted 19 new permit applications in 2006 in accordance with the recently amended Nigerien mining law. the Imouraren permit, which was located about 80 km south of Arlit, was granted in July 2006. The permit included an ore body discovered in 1969 that Areva NC planned to mine owing to favorable market conditions. One hundred people were employed at the site in 2006. More than 55 km of development drilling had been completed at the site during a period of 1 year and more than 2 t of ore had been shipped for testing to Areva NC’s laboratories^{[2] [12]}

Bayswater Uranium Corp. applied for 16 uranium concessions covering 8,000 km2 in two blocks in Niger. according to the company, the granting of the exploration concessions was delayed while the government reviewed the country’s Mining Code; the review was completed on November 1, 2006. Bayswater was required to reapply for the concessions. the company expected to receive government approval and planned then to conduct airborne radiometric and magnetic surveys and followup prospecting of anomalous targets to define uranium targets of interest for subsequent drilling^{[2] [13]}

A group of companies led by China National Uranium Corporation was granted uranium exploration licenses covering the areas of Madaouela and Teguidda north of InGall^{[2] [14]}

North Atlantic Resources Ltd. (Canada) was granted a uranium exploration license for the 1,963-km2 Abelajouad property, which is located in the Arlit region about 800 km from Niamey. under the terms of the agreement with the government, the company was to invest about $2.2 million during a period of 3 years to maintain its interest in the property. if the project were to advance to commercial production, the government would retain a 10% carried interest and up to a 20% participating interest in the project^{[2] [15]}

Outlook

the IMF estimates that real GDP growth in Niger is likely to reach 4.5% in 2007 owing, in part, to the development of the gold and uranium sectors. the adoption of a new Mining Code under which the government is to participate in new mining development initiatives with the private sector and renewed international interest in the generation of nuclear energy, suggest that Niger is likely to benefit from an increase in foreign direct investment in the mineral sector in the near future.^[2]

See also

• Economy of Niger
• List of countries by gold production
• List of countries by uranium production
• Uranium reserves (list by nation)

References

1. ^ Uranium information Centre Ltd., 2007, World uranium mining—nuclear issues briefing paper 41: Melbourne, australia, uranium information Centre Ltd., July. (accessed november 1, 2007, at http://www.uic.com.au/nip41.htm .)
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} U.S. Geological Survey/Omayra Bermúdez-Lugo. The Mineral industries of Mauritania and Niger. in U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2006. U.S. Geological Survey/U.S. Department of the Interior (July 2008) Note: this publication is in the Public Domain, and large portions of it are reproduced here verbatim.
3. ^ International Monetary Fund, 2007b, p. 5; 2007c, p. 9
4. ^ International Monetary Fund, 2007a, p. 9
5. ^ ^{a b c} The Ténéré Project, Niger. TG Energy, updated: Thursday, November 27, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-14
6. ^ tg World energy Corp., 2007, 2006 annual report: Calgary, Alberta, Canada, tg World energy Corp. pp. 1, 5
7. ^ CNPC in Niger. China National Petroleum Corporation. Retrieved 2009-03-14
8. ^ CNPC Plans to Invest $5 Billion in Niger Oil Block. Ying Lou and Abdoulaye Ibbo Daddy. Bloomberg news. 3 June 2008
9. ^ China oil co breaks ground on Chad, Niger refineries. Reuters. 29 October 2008.
10. ^ Decalo, Samuel (1997). Historical Dictionary of the Niger (3rd ed.). Boston & Folkestone: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810831368. 
11. ^ Brighton Energy Discovers Additional Uranium Mineralization in Niger. Orezone Gold Corporation, Marketwire, 2011-05-16.
12. ^ Areva NC, 2006, reference document: Paris, France, areva nv, 392 p. p. 62-71
13. ^ Bayswater uranium Corp., 2007, Management discussion and analysis—year ended February 28, 2007: vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Bayswater uranium Corp., p. 7
14. ^ Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly, 2006, energy-hungry China to seek uranium in Niger: Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly, July 18. (accessed July 18, 2006, at http://www.miningweekly.co.za/min/news/today/?show=89885 .)
15. ^ North Atlantic Resources Ltd., 2007, Management’s discussion and analysis and audited consolidated financial statements—december 31, 2006 and 2005: toronto, Ontario, Canada, north atlantic resources Ltd., p. 3

• U.S. geological Survey Minerals yearbook, volume iii, area reports—international— africa and the Middle east,.
• International Monetary Fund, 2007a, Fourth review under the three-year arrangement under the poverty reduction and growth facility and request for waiver and modification of performance criteria: Washington, dC, International Monetary Fund, July, 45 p.
• International Monetary Fund, 2007b, Letter of intent, memorandum of economic and financial policies of the government of Niger for 2007, and technical memorandum of understanding for 2007: Washington, dC, International Monetary Fund, 21 p.
• International Monetary Fund, 2007c, Letter of intent, memorandum of economic and financial policies, and technical memorandum of understanding: Washington, dC, International Monetary Fund, May 16, 23 p.
• Mining Journal, 2006, China in Niger: Mining Journal, July 21, p. 1.

External links

• Niger country page at EITI international website